Moto GP

[Rev004]

Round 1 - Qatar 2009.
Part 1

I don't believe it we have the 1st round of MotoGp kicking off and I thought for sure when I got home this arvo someone would have kicked off the banter and got everyone revved up but not to be.

Anyway just looking through some of the goss and Stoner is on Pole for the race in the morning going for his hat trick. Hayden is looking like he maybe out after a huge off but Rossi and Lorenzo are on the pace so we will have to wait and see.

But that's enough from me here's some light reading and times to go over just to get you lot in the mood. Hope everyone is having a good Easter.

Suzuki improvements lift confidence for â€09 kick off
Wednesday, 08 April 2009

As the Rizla Suzuki team travel to the Losail International Circuit in Qatar spirits are high following winter improvements to the GSV-R.


As the excitement builds ahead of the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar this weekend Loris Capirossi and his team-mate Chris Vermeulen are desperate for the competitive action to commence, having made significant strides over the winter.

Successful preseason tests in Malaysia, Qatar and Spain, have seen winter improvements to the GSV-R800 confirmed by both riders, with the last of those tests at Jerez resulting in Capirossi and Vermeulen finishing third and fifth respectively in the BMW M Award showdown session.

Both riders struggled for consistency in 2008, with competitiveness in the latter stages of races a specific problem, so this weekend will give both Suzuki riders a chance to see how far their overall race package has in fact improved since the conclusion of last season.

Capirossi and Vermeulen were regularly amongst the top riders at all of the 2009 preseason practices, but that will count for nothing unless they can get some good points on the board in Qatar.

“It was good to finish the test schedule with a good result at Jerez and it shows how far the bike has come on in the winter, but now we have to be focused on racing, because we have to keep improving,” comments the vastly experienced Capirossi. “We want to be on the podium and winning races and I believe that is where we can be. Qatar has been a tough track for Suzuki in the past, but the test there earlier this year was quite good and hopefully we can get the season off to a strong start.”

The veteran Italianâ€s 26 year-old Australian colleague Vermeulen adds, “We had an important test at Losail last month and we are going there a lot better prepared than the same time last year.”

“Qatar has been a track that we have struggled at in the past, but the new GSV-R seems to be working very well there this year and both Loris and I were well on the pace in the test. Hopefully we can stay in the top-five at Qatar, because that is certainly what we are aiming for.”


Upbeat Dovizioso raring to go at round one
Wednesday, 08 April 2009

Being given a big break this year on factory machinery Andrea Dovizioso is aiming to make the most of his improved package, as the 2009 season commences.


Last year in MotoGP Andrea Dovizioso was a breath of fresh air, finishing as the highest non-factory rider in fifth place, after a highly consistent premier class debut campaign with JiR Team Scot.

He goes into his second season in MotoGP - and this weekendâ€s first race of the year at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar - as a Repsol Honda rider, having been ‘promoted†by HRC in recognition of his loyalty and hard work.

Winter testing has not been easy for the Italian youngster as he has adapted to riding on Bridgestone tyres and taken on the burden of extra responsibility which comes with being a factory rider. Furthermore his new team-mate Dani Pedrosa has missed a significant amount of preseason testing due to injury, putting more pressure on Dovizioso and his new crew chief Pete Benson to get the RC212V ‘race ready†for 2009.

Former 125cc World Champion made a spectacular MotoGP entrance last year when he qualified ninth and finished fourth in Qatar, beating his illustrious compatriot Valentino Rossi in the process.

Having finally achieved his first podium of the year in third place at the penultimate round of 2008 at Sepang, Dovizioso finished strongly with another fourth place in Valencia at the end of last season - and he will be keen to continue that sort of form at the beginning of this year.

“Iâ€m really looking forward to the start of the season,” he states. “This was my first winter as a factory Honda tester and it was an exciting experience to be in the full works squad. Now the preparation is over and weâ€re going racing.”

“I like racing in Qatar, and riding under the floodlights at night is very special. It has an amazing, unique atmosphere and the layout of the track is different from the other circuits, in particular the turns are very long and it is not easy to go at high speeds on the corners. Still, I have always had good results in Qatar and last year, at my debut in MotoGP, I had a fantastic race.”

Commenting on his seventh place finish in the BMW M Award at the Official MotoGP Test in southern Spain which completed the 2009 preseason, he added, “At the last test in Jerez our machine had improved compared to the previous test we did in Qatar at the beginning of March, so Iâ€m confident for the first race of the season and I will be doing my best to fight up front.”


Elías happy to be racing with Gresini again
Wednesday, 08 April 2009

As he makes the final preparations for Qatar Spaniard Toni Elías is excited about returning to competitive action with San Carlo Honda Gresini.


Heading into his fifth season in the premier class Toni Elías will be looking for a big improvement in 2009, having struggled last season on a satellite Ducati bike with which he never got fully comfortable.

The 26 year-old of course returned to the Honda Gresini team over the winter and despite not having had a perfect preseason, he is hopeful he can get a good result this weekend at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.

Re-united with Fausto Gresini, under whose management he rode for two years in 2006 and 2007 achieving his career highlight Portuguese MotoGP win in â€06, Elías has familiar faces around him again this season and will enjoy factory support from HRC.

He was not as high up the test timesheets as he would have hoped to be during the winter and was visibly disappointed at the end of the Jerez test just over a week ago when he completed the BMW M Award session in ninth place.

The rider and his team have admitted they still have adjustments to make in order to find the right setting for Elías†RC212V, as the man from Catalunya explained, “We have struggled a little more than we expected in testing but we know where the problems lie and it is good to be going back to a circuit where we already have lots of data.”

On an enthusiastic note, he continued, “Iâ€m happy to be going racing with this team again, with Honda and on this fantastic bike. Ideally Iâ€d like to be starting the season in better shape but the truth is we have work to do in a short space of time when we get out to Qatar and weâ€ll be pushing hard in every aspect to approach the race in the best possible way.”

Referring to the peculiarities of this weekendâ€s floodlit season-opener Elías also stated, “Racing at night makes it a bit tricky but Losail is one of my favourite circuits and Iâ€ve started on the front row there twice before – both times with this team. I remember in particular three years ago we were three seconds off the pace on the first day and still managed to qualify on the front row. That just shows how quickly things can change in racing so weâ€ll go there with optimism, fight hard and see what happens.”


Dust settles on rivalry in Qatar press conference
Thursday, 09 April 2009

Rossi and Gibernau feature in MotoGP quintet as they set the scene for season curtain-raiser.


The time for talk ahead of the start of the MotoGP season was almost over on Thursday in Losail, but the last platform for the riders was raised for the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar press conference. The media gathering saw five riders expressing their views, reviewing their preseason and –in the case of two famous faces- putting their differences to bed before the second MotoGP night race.

Riders Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha), Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) and Sete Gibernau (Grupo Francisco Hernando) were the riders being posed the questions by the gathered national and international press, all five delighted to be recommencing a race weekend.

“I have the same level of excitement as I had back in 1996; when I donâ€t feel this way then Iâ€ll go home,” said reigning World Champion Rossi. “Weâ€re all wanting to understand our level in a real scenario, different to testing. We werenâ€t at 100% when we last tested here, but we have improved a bit from what was our worst race last year.”

Also claiming less than full preparedness was Dovizioso, who nonetheless had good memories of his 2008 debut at the Losail International Circuit.

“Last year was nice, and now we have some data here with the new bike. We will keep working,” promised the Italian.

“Iâ€m sure that we are able to start this season at a reasonable level,” added Stoner, the winner of the two most recent races at the Qatari track. “With the bike the new chassis has made a big difference, and the new swingarm makes the bike move around a lot less. Itâ€s easier for me to ride.”

Vermeulen indicated that whilst Suzuki did not have the “perfect machine”, they were still happy with what has been a successful winter and stated that, “our goal is the podium, but everyone else wants to be there as well, and there arenâ€t that many spots on the box.”

The gathered hacks eager for a story could not have wished for a better opportunity with the presence of Gibernau in the press conference alongside former nemesis Rossi. Whilst the Spaniard was eager to express his excitement at his return to MotoGP action after two years on the sidelines, and his ambition being simply to finish the opening round in the face of pain from his injured shoulder, the question on everyoneâ€s lips regarded the relationship between himself and the six-time MotoGP titlist.

“The best years of my life were spent in MotoGP, and riding against the man who many of you say is the best ever,” considered Gibernau. “Also I had some of my best times off the track with him, so I am proud to be back.” Rossiâ€s thoughts on whether the two could become friends? Yes they could, and he hopes to see his rival “up in front… but not in front of me!”

The two gave a handshake for the cameras, already leaving the 2009 season with an iconic image even before they begin practice on Friday night.

A confessedly nervous Gibernau almost felt enough at ease to crack a joke about his lack of night riding experience, explaining that heâ€d been “trying to get used to the lights by going out in Barcelona,” but was unsure as to whether this would help him.

Pedrosa ready to give it a shot
Friday, 10 April 2009

Repsol Hondaâ€s Dani Pedrosa rates his own fitness levels at 60% or 70% as the season starts, but he will still try to race in Qatar.


Last yearâ€s third placed rider overall in MotoGP, Dani Pedrosa has had a difficult preseason ahead of the 2009 FIM MotoGP World Championship, with surgery before Christmas, a heavy crash in Qatar during testing at the beginning of March and another resultant operation to help repair the damage.

The 24 year-old Spaniard has spent the last five weeks recuperating after the insertion of a screw into his left wrist and the latest surgery to fix a long-term injury in his left knee, which was aggravated by his Qatar crash.

Pedrosa participated in the official 2009 MotoGP riders photograph on Friday afternoon at the Losail International Circuit and he will test his fitness levels in the first MotoGP free practice of the year at 10.30pm local time this evening in Qatar.

The rider himself stated, “Iâ€m here to try to race this weekend and Iâ€m happy about that. Itâ€s not been easy to get here because I didnâ€t have much time to recover and Iâ€m not at 100% yet. We can say that Iâ€m at about 60% or 70%. There are some injuries where you can push hard to recover faster, but this injury was not of this type and I really couldnâ€t push the recovery – I had to take some time.”

He continued, “Iâ€ve not been able to fully bend my knee since I crashed in Australia in October and after two operations since then there is still some way to go before Iâ€m completely fit again. Right now I still cannot fully bend my knee and I canâ€t squat down completely, which is usually what you need to race the bike, so I canâ€t tell exactly how itâ€s going to go until the first practice session tonight.”

In addition to his physical state Pedrosa also has other thoughts on his mind, commenting, “Iâ€m also concerned about the machine. We still have to make quite a lot of progress and we will need some time to get to the same level as our rivals. Still, we are where we are and we have to give our maximum to overcome the issues.”

Noting the support of those around him he went on to add, “I want to say thanks to all the fans who have sent me letters and emails showing their support and pushing me to recover. When youâ€re in this situation, this kind of support really helps you a lot. Also I want say thanks to my team for all the dedication theyâ€ve shown to get to the best possible position since Iâ€ve been away. After last year, they already know how to work in this kind of situation and I have full confidence in them.”


De Puniet aiming for top six after first session
Friday, 10 April 2009

Frenchman Randy de Puniet says he could have done better than tenth place in the first free practice session of the season but was slowed down by another rider.


LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet set a fastest lap of 1â€58.771 aboard his satellite RC212V on Friday evening in the first free practice of the 2009 season at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.

Having completed a total of 18 laps in the 45 minute session he gave his thoughts on finishing tenth on the opening night in the Arabian desert.

Randy De Puniet – 10th
“It was not so bad even if the session felt very short. We did a good job testing different settings and tyres and honestly Iâ€ve already made my tyre choice for the race. I did a long run (8 laps) at the end of the session, riding with a good feeling. Tenth position is not bad but we could go faster, finishing in the top six. Unfortunately I lost some time behind (Nicky) Hayden on my last lap, but I think we started the race week end in a good form”.


Stoner reacts to opening night success
Friday, 10 April 2009

After Casey Stoner began the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar in good form on Friday night he was in an upbeat mood about the results of the first MotoGP free practice of 2009.


Ducati Marlboroâ€s Casey Stoner has a great record at Qatar, having started his remarkable 2007 MotoGP title triumph with a brilliant victory at the Losail International Circuit, a win which he repeated in style at the beginning of last year.

The Australian was also the fastest man at the 2009 Official Night Test at the desert track at the beginning of March and having stopped off in Jerez two weeks ago to top the timesheets again and win himself a new car in the BMW M Award, he continued his preseason form with the best time in free practice on Friday evening as the new season commenced.

The 23 year-old will be hard to stop at this weekend, although fans can be assured that the likes of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo will be doing their very best to prevent a third consecutive Stoner Qatar win on Sunday.

Reviewing his eveningâ€s work late on Friday Stoner commented, “The bike is working very well. The settings that we found in Jerez seem to be working quite well here also, but we still need to improve a couple of things like everybody. The track conditions are not perfect yet, though by the time we arrive tomorrow night for qualifying it should be fine and we will understand where we are a little bit more.”

Asked about his fitness as he prepares for his first race since winter surgery, he replied, “There is no problem with my wrist. I would like to be able to do more physical training but that is not an excuse and the wrist is not causing any issues. So we are looking forward to starting the season and we will see how things go.”


Rossi notes improvements in good Friday session
Friday, 10 April 2009

“Weâ€ll get better" assures reigning MotoGP World Champion.


Casey Stoner may have set the early pace in Qatar with a storming practice time, but MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi drew positive conclusions from the first session of the 2009 season. At what he described on Thursday as the scene of his ‘worst race of 2008â€, the Fiat Yamaha man saw potential for further improvement in the two forthcoming Saturday sessions.

“It was a good session. We are already close to the top, and we already have some ideas from the last test on how to improve the grip levels,” said Rossi after clocking a 1â€57.439 time (0.386 slower than Stonerâ€s lap) on a circuit that had only had 1.5hours worth of riding undertaken beforehand to clear up the lines.

“The new setting is working well, and we have more confidence now when compared to the test that we had here. Now is only the first practice; weâ€ll get faster.”

The previous test had seen prior rainfall and cold temperatures cause problems for the riders, and the Italian felt the difference in conditions to some extent on Friday.

“I can ride the bike feeling that it is more under control. With lower temperatures it was perhaps dangerous at times before.”

Rossi will be back on track with the rest of the MotoGP riders for the second free practice session for the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, on Saturday at 7.05pm local time.


Lorenzo unworried by early Qatar form
Friday, 10 April 2009

Fiat Yamaha rider confident of Saturday improvement before qualifying in Qatar.


Jorge Lorenzo needed a late lap to push himself into the top five at Losail on Friday, but the Spaniard declared himself unpeturbed by events in the first free practice session in Qatar. The Fiat Yamaha rider will look for further improvement on Saturday, at the scene of his maiden MotoGP pole position.

Jorge Lorenzo - 4th
“We had a few problems, mainly in the hard braking areas where I didnâ€t have such a great feeling with the front tyre, but apart from that itâ€s been ok. The track was quite dirty so it was difficult to go at 100%, and I think tomorrow it will be much better. At the end today we made a big improvement and my last lap was much better, so I am not worried and I think tomorrow, with more time on track, we can improve. 45 minutes doesnâ€t feel enough to me but I do understand the reason for this change; if it helps the championship then itâ€s important and we just need to get used to this new way of working. The track should be much less dirty as well tomorrow so I hope we can start from where we finished tonight and keep going.”


Suzuki looking for improvements on day two
Friday, 10 April 2009

Loris Capirossi began his twentieth season in Grand Prix racing by recording the sixth fastest free practice 1 time at Losail on Friday evening, but is hoping to go faster on Saturday.


Experienced Italian Loris Capirossi was sixth quickest in the first practice session of 2009 at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar on Friday, but he wants to make improvements ahead of qualifying.

His Rizla Suzuki colleague Chris Vermeulen is looking for a big step forward himself after ending up 14th on the timesheet.

Loris Capirossi - 6th
“For the first practice it was not too bad, but we did struggle a bit with the setting. In the recent test it was not perfect so we tried a new one and this didnâ€t work as well so we will use some stuff from that and go back to the old one. We have a good idea what we need to modify tomorrow and I am sure we will be stronger. 45 minutes seems a really short time and it is difficult to get a lot of work done, also with the limited amount of tyres - especially on such a dirty track - made it quite tough. Overall we are quite pleased and we will have quite an easy way to improve tomorrow!”
Chris Vermeulen – 14th
“It was not really the start to the weekend that we wanted. We have a limit on tyres and didnâ€t really want to use any of the hard front tyres that we will be using for racing. We tried to make the softer one work and we were going not too bad in the beginning of session, but at the end I kept the front tyre in and there was a lot of movement in the front of the bike and struggled to keep corner speed up. It was a bit frustrating that we couldnâ€t go as fast as we have been round here, but I still have all my hard front tyres left and hopefully the speed will come back when we put that in.”


Edwards: “Weâ€ve just got to put the pieces together”
Friday, 10 April 2009

Adjustments between Qatar test and practice bear fruit for American.


Monster Yamaha Tech3 were back at the business end of the timesheet in Qatar, with Colin Edwards showing the form of the M1 as one of only three riders capable of a lap under 1â€58. The American saved the best - his 1â€57.835 lap - until last, on his seventeenth and final lap of the first MotoGP practice session.

“Weâ€ve changed the bike up a little bit, and the engineers have done something a little bit different with the front to solve some problems,” explained Edwards after his debrief. “Weâ€ve been having problems, especially at Jerez, with the bike bumping and acting like a speed limiter. Now weâ€ve moved that on a bit after trying something out.”

The ‘Texas Tornado†added, “Jerez was a bit special, and we thought that what was needed there could be used here and work well. Weâ€ve got all the pieces, but weâ€ve just got to put them together.”

Edwards qualified on the front row for last yearâ€s Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, one of his best Saturday performances of the season.


Stoner on the pace as Qatar weekend and 2009 season commence
Friday, 10 April 2009

The 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner started the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar weekend and the new season ahead of his rivals, in the first MotoGP free practice session of the year.


As the first day of action at the opening round of the season concluded under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit on Friday evening the winner of the last two MotoGP races at the Qatari track, Casey Stoner, was the paceman again onboard his superb Desmosedici GP9.

Despite running off track at one stage, Stoner was in charge from early in the session with his 1â€57.053 best time coming on the 12th of his 17 laps and keeping him 0.386s ahead of second fastest rider Valentino Rossi. Australian Ducati Marlboro rider Stoner was the form rider of the 2009 preseason and he will take some beating this weekend in Qatar.

World Champion Rossi was once more the closest man to his young rival Stoner, the Italian registering his quickest time (1â€57.439) towards the end of the session. A race winner previously at the desert circuit, the legendary Fiat Yamaha rider will look to start his title defence with another victory on Sunday.

In the first ever Grand Prix free practice session in the single tyre supplier era, a rider who did not use Bridgestone tyres last year, Monster Yamaha Tech3â€s Colin Edwards, was third fastest, courtesy of a best time right at the end of the 45-minute practice, albeit 0.782s off Stonerâ€s pace.

Another rider new to Bridgestone rubber this year, Fiat Yamahaâ€s Jorge Lorenzo surged up the timesheets with his own last gasp hot lap to finish fourth. The young Spaniard undertaking his second season in the MotoGP class will aim to repeat his 2008 Qatar pole position in qualifying on Saturday night.

Like Lorenzo, San Carlo Honda Gresiniâ€s Alex de Angelis embarks on his second MotoGP campaign this year and he started the weekend well on his satellite RC212V, in fifth place as the fastest Honda rider.

Veteran Italian Loris Capirossi, starting his 20th season in the World Championship placed sixth on the timesheet on the improved and updated Rizla Suzuki GSV-R, nearly a second and a half behind former team-mate Stoner.

An impressive effort from MotoGP rookie Mika Kallio, meanwhile saw him lap seventh quickest as he continued his adaptation to premier class riding with his new team Pramac Racing.

Andrea Dovizioso gets his big break with Repsol Honda this season and he started his first GP weekend on factory machinery in eighth place overall.

Next on the timesheets were Marco Melandri, on the Ninja ZX-RR in the new Hayate Racing team set-up, and LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet.

James Toseland (Tech 3 Yamaha) just missed on the top ten as he continued his recovery from some big preseason crashes, whilst 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden was down in thirteenth place as he commenced his first race weekend with Ducati Marlboro.

Dani Pedrosa was back on track, riding through the pain barrier with his knee and wrist injuries, returning to action after missing the Jerez Official Test as a result of a heavy crash in testing at Losail just over a month ago. The Repsol Honda rider lapped 4.382s off the pace, completing 17 important laps, but ending the session last on the timesheet

COMMERCIALBANK GRAND PRIX OF QATAR
MotoGP Free Practice Nr. 1 Classification

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'57.053 328.967
2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'57.439 327.471 0.386
3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'57.835 322.677 0.782
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'58.272 326.579 1.219
5 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'58.452 326.975 1.399
6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'58.468 323.643 1.415
7 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'58.499 328.367 1.446
8 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'58.506 325.693 1.453
9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'58.757 324.812 1.704
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'58.771 321.332 1.718
11 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'58.850 320.000 1.797
12 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'59.094 327.471 2.041
13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'59.158 324.519 2.105
14 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'59.348 316.437 2.295
15 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'59.437 319.621 2.384
16 59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 2'00.595 323.547 3.542
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 2'00.597 317.927 3.544
18 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'01.435 326.876 4.382